Process of making brick.



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Reference *i Patented August 9, 190.

PATENT OFFICE.

ORVIS GOLDEN DIEFENDORF, OF VVATERTOVVN, YV YORK.

PROCESS CF MAKING BRICK-r SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters PatentNo. 766,938, dated August 9, 1904. Application filed septembarzfi, 1903.Serial No. 174,642. (No man.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ORVIS GOLDEN DIEFEN- DORF, brickmanufacturer, ofWatertown, in the county of J efferson, State of New York, have inventeda certain new and useful Process of Making Bricks, of which thefollowing is aspecification.

In the manufacture of bricks from various mixtures in which cement andsand are used it has been customary in the past first to thoroughly wetthe cement and sand or other earth while they are being mixed and thento 'press them, forcing the moisture out, afterward allowing them todry. I have found, however, that this process tends to produce and, infact. has always produced a very rough unfinished brick, owing tothefact that the water running out of the brick disturbs the surface ofsand and cement, carrying with it grains of-sand, thus completelyspoiling the smoothness of the surface.

In the course of experiment I have arrived ata new process which ischeap and simple, in the use of which I have found that an extremelysmooth, clean, good, and well-finished brick is produced, and thisprocess I will now describe.

The essential ingredients which are mixedtogether are, first, any grittyor friable earth such as round stone, Sand vel orthelikeand wit isemsmtabiecement (prefers abl Portland cement) is mixed, the proportiomdfie part of cement to four or five of earth; but if sharp cleansandisused less cement is required. It is preferable it containscthe properamount of moisture it will just remain in shape when released, but iftouched will fall apart. Having got the 5 cement and friable earthproperly mixed and dampened, the next step is to form the bricks andpress them at an extremely high pres- -sure, the pressure used inpractice being approximately two thousand pounds to the square inch, or,in other words, thirty-two tons on the surface of the brick. The brickis then taken out of the press and allowed to stand until it is foundthat a thin crust has formed on the outside surface of the br ick. Thetime which this crust requires to form varies according to theconditions of the atmosphere, and on a very bright dry windy day it willonly take. about two hours. When this crust has formed on the brick,water is sprinkled thereon until the brick has absorbed as'much aspossible, or, in other words, until the brick is saturated. In order totest. the

hardness of the crust' which forms on the surface of the brick, theusual plan is to scrape it with the finger-nail and if the finger-nailcuts into the brick it is not sufliciently hard;

but" if the surface of the brick is sufliciently hard to file or weardown the finger-nail the bricks are ready to be sprinkled with water.The bricks after having been sprinkled with water are allowed to stand,preferably from twenty toforty eight hours on palettes ,or

boards, and during this time the cement in I the interior of the brickhardens and firmly secures together the particles of ground stone,

sand, grave], or other friable earth, and it is.

found that when the brick dries it neither shrinks nor expands andretains anv extremely smooth surface with clean sharp edges.

The color of the brickprepared as above isgenerally a light gray; but ifa brick of any other colorsuch-as red, blue, green, or blackis required,suitable coloring-matter may be mixed with the cement and sand duringthe first step of the process, and it will thus be seen that by-means ofmy process a cheap and very strong durable brick will be produced.

What I claim as my invention is.

1. The process of making bricks which consists in mixing the ingredientsincluding ce-' ment and a small quantity of water; then form: ing thebricks in suitable molds; then subjecting the material in the molds to apressure of two thousand pounds on the square inch or thereab'out,thereby causing the smallquantity of moisture contained tocome to thesurface of the molds; then removing thebricks from the molds andallowing them to stand.

exposed to the air till'a thin hard crust is formed on their surface;then wetting the bricks, then allowing the bricks to stand and harden,substantially as described.

2. The process of making bricks which consists in first mixing theingredients including cement and moist friable earth; then forming thebricks in suitable molds; then subjecting the material in the molds to apressure of two thousand pounds on the square inch or thereabout,thereby causing the small quantity of moisture contained to come to thesurface of the molds; then removing the brick from the molds andallowing them to stand exposed to the air till athin hard crust isformed on their surface; then wetting the bricks; then allowingthe-bricks to stand and harden, substantially as described.

v 3. The process of making bricks which consists in first mixing theingredients including cement and friable earth; then adding a smallamount of moisture to the mixture; then forming the bricks in suitablemolds; then subject- 'ingthe material in the molds to a pressure of twothousand pounds onv the square inch or thereabout, thereby causing thesmall quan-.

tity of moisture contained to come to the surface of the molds; thenremoving the bricks from the molds and allowing them to stand exposed tothe air till a -thin hard crust is formed on their surface; then wettingthe bricks; then allowing the bricks to stand and harden, substantiallyas described, v

4. The process of making bricks which consists in first mixing theingredients including cement, friable earth, coloring-matter and a smallquantity of water; then forming the bricks in suitable molds; thensubjecting the material in the molds to a pressure of two thousandpounds on the square inch or thereabout, thereby causing the smallquantity of moisture contained to come to the surface of the molds; thenremoving the bricks from the molds and allowing them to stand exposed tothe air till a thin hard crust is formed on their

